Where You Are
by discoballmind
Summary: Jackson Jekyll is the new boy at Monster High, who just so happens to have a crush on one of the most popular boys in school, Deuce Gorgon. As hard as he tries, Jackson is unsure how to show Deuce how he feels, and when his dark past comes back to haunt him it only makes things worse. Will love survive in the end?
1. Chapter I: Alone Together

**I've had this idea to write this story based off of my own childhood as a child with a chronic illness for a long while, but I've never had the time to actually write it until now. I absolutely love Jackson/Deuce and I want to write about them more often. I've also been looking through some of my old fanfics and if this fanfic gets positive feedback I think I may reboot some of my old favorites I never had the time to finish. I really miss writing for you guys. Anyways enough of the cheesy stuff, Here is "Where You Are" I hope you enjoy. Please leave a review if you do. ~Discoballmind**

* * *

Dribble. Fake left. Shoot. Score. Get the rebound. Pivot. Swish. "Keep it up Jackson." The boy told himself. He had been on the court for an hour now, the longest amount of physical activity he had had in a long time. The Normie dribbled the casketball back to the line and then sprints, dibbling towards the basket, but right before he went for the layup, he tripped over his own feet and fell forward. Jackson went reeling and ended up flat on his face. "OOF!" The boy said upon contact with the cold, hard ground.

"You okay there bro?" Another voice asked. Jackson jumped, he was so focused on his own game he didn't notice when the other boy started to watch him.

Jackson looked up and saw a figure in front of him with an outstretched hand. He grabbed onto the other boy's hand and was pulled right back up to his feet. "Thank you." Jackson said, somewhat embarrassed his fall had been seen.

"I'm Deuce." The boy introduced himself as Jackson finally got a good look at him.

" _Whoa_." The Normie thought with a slight blush coming to his cheeks. " _He's totally cute."_

"I was "watching you play from over there. You're pretty good." Deuce said. The gorgon subtly checked out the boy in front of him. Just a little shorter than himself the boy stood. Black hair with a yellow streak sat atop his head and the piercing in his eyebrow caught Deuce's eye. Unbeknownst to Jackson, Deuce thought the Normie was pretty cute too.

"Do you want the court? You can go ahead and play, I was just leaving anyway." Jackson said quickly. He really wasn't planning on leaving but he didn't want to be a court-hog. Deuce shook his head and motioned for Jackson to pass him the ball.

"Nah, you don't have to leave. You up for some one on one?" Deuce said with a cocky smile. Jackson matched his smile and bounced the ball towards him.

The two played a fierce game and by the end of it, Jackson's panting had grown to an alarming rate. He tried to suppress it in hopes that Deuce wouldn't notice, but after almost an hour of playing he couldn't contain it any longer. "I...Think...I...Have...To...Go..." He said in between each wheezing breath. The gorgon gave him a concerned look.

"You okay?" Deuce asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"Yeah...Fine..." Jackson lied. Deuce didn't buy it, but didn't press the issue any further. He bounced Jackson the ball and gave him another smile. As the boy walked away at a rather quick pace, Deuce realized he hadn't bothered to ask the name of this not-so-mysterious stranger.

Deuce couldn't help but think about the strange boy he met as he walked home, but after awhile his mind began wandering to other things, like the Clawculus test he had tomorrow that he totally didn't study for.

* * *

Jackson flopped belly first onto his mattress the second he walked through his bedroom door. Exhausted didn't even _begin_ to cover the level of tiredness he felt at that moment. He was so deep into his relaxation that he practically jumped out of his skin when he heard his mom's voice from the doorway.

"Just getting back sweetie?" She said, and Jackson knew from the soft, kind voice it was Mama Jekyll talking to him. Being the child of Dr. Jekyll herself, Jackson's mom also had split personalities, Mama Jekyll and Mama Hyde. Mama Jekyll was much softer and more patient, while Mama Hyde was blunt and right to the point, but Jackson loved them both the same.

"Yeah mom, you wouldn't believe it, I played casketball for a whole two hours today!" Jackson said excitedly while sitting up to face his mom. She couldn't help but smile when she the glimmer in her son's eyes. She sat down on the edge of the bed and tousled his hair lovingly.

"That's amazing Jackie!" She cooed, using a pet name she had called him since birth.

"And I met this super cool monster guy and I played against him, I lost but I had so much fun!" He practically yelled out of joy. Mama Jekyll smiled again.

"Good! I'm glad you're out having fun and meeting new people. You know you're gonna have to meet a bunch of new people when you go to this new school, right?" She hesitated before adding that second part. Jackson had never been the best at making new friends, and with all the moving around they had to do, it was hard for Jackson to keep friends for very long. He didn't seem to mind it, however, he was never one for being extremely social. He usually kept himself busy with his books.

"Yeah, I know. I'm gonna try my best." Jackson said skittishly. He knew his social skills weren't the best, but he really wanted to start this new school out on the right foot.

"This new place is gonna be great for us, Jackie, I can feel it." Mama Jekyll said happily while standing again. "Now, you need to get some rest before dinner. Also, I'd like to talk to Holt sometime too, I know he's a night owl, but will you let him know?" She asked as she got up and left the room.

Jackson and Holt had the ability to communicate completely in their mind. " _Hey Holt? Mom wants to see you soon._ " Jackson though to Holt. The reply came a lot sooner than Jackson thought.

" _'Kay dork, you take a nap I'll go hang with her._ " Holt said. " _I hope she's not gonna yell at me for burning that hole in the couch because that was like totally not my fault okay?_ "

Jackson rolled his eyes and got ready to rest up. Almost as soon as he closed his eyes, his body began transforming into his other half. It begins as a tingle in the bottom of his feet and the tips of his fingers and soon it grows into a slight burning sensation as his entire body bursts into bright flames and then, like magic, Holt is right there in place of Jackson. The transformation happened and Holt began to stretch out in his bed. He hopped over the edge of the bed and headed quickly downstairs.

"Hey ma, ya wanted to see me?" Holt asked, grabbing a chair at the head of the family's dinner table in the kitchen where Mama Jekyll was cooking dinner.

"Sure did! How was your day sweetie?" She asked while puttering around the kitchen.

"It was 'ight, I didn't get out much because Jackie-boy wanted to get some exercise, but he promised me all of Saturday so it's okay." Holt said as Mama Jekyll set down a plate in front of him. Dinner tonight was hot wings, Holt's favorite. "Mmm, looks de-lish, Ma!" Holt sang out in his booming voice. She smiled and went back to the stove to wrap up another plate and put it in the fridge.

"I put a plate in the fridge for Jackson, don't forget to tell him that, I'm sure he's gonna be starving when he wakes up." She said, taking a seat at the other end of the table. "So," She began after a slight pause. "do you know the boy Jackson met today?" Holt was eating rather ferociously, but he replied in between bites.

"Yeah, Deuce, he's pretty cool. A gorgon, I think his mom is Medusa." He replied after swallowing a particularly big bite. After he finished speaking he went right back to chomping on his food. Mama Jekyll just looked at him and chuckled.

"Holt, sweetie, you're gonna choke if you keep eating that fast, by the way you're scarfing it down you'd think I don't feed you!" She said teasingly. Holt rolled his eyes jokingly and began to chew slower. There was another pause in the conversation before Holt spoke again.

"Oh yeah! Jackie won't tell ya this, but he totally has the hots for that guy we met today." He revealed. He knew Jackson wouldn't tell her himself, so he thought he might as well say it, no matter how mad he would be. Mama Jekyll raised an eyebrow at this.

"Really now? Jackson with a crush? It's been a long while since the last time he had a crush." She pondered out loud. Then she very quickly pointed a finger at Holy. "You better not do anything to embarrass him Holt Hyde. He's sensitive you know." She scolded quickly. Holt laughed with a mouthful of chicken.

"I won't! I won't! Deuce definitely is a sight for sore eyes so I won't mess with Jackie." Holt said. His mom smiled, but still gave him a slightly uncertain look.

"You better not." She said again. "Now, you finish eating then you better start to get ready for bed. You both have big days tomorrow and I want you both to be ready." Mama Jekyll said while clearing the table after Holt had finished. "This new place is gonna be great for us Holt, I can feel it." She repeated to her other son.

When Holt had retired upstairs, Mama Jekyll found herself alone with a sink full of dishes and dishwater. She stared absentmindedly into the slightly dirty sink. "This place is gonna be great for us." She whispered to the reflection she saw on the surface of the water. "It's gotta be."


	2. Chapter II: Everything Is Embarrassing

**Chapter 2! I really love the way this story is shaping up! I hope you all enjoy! Don't forget to favorite, follow and leave a review! ~Discoballmind**

* * *

Lunchtime at Monster High was always a frenzy. Literally. So many monsters trying to get their grub could be overwhelming, especially for someone who had never experienced public school at all. And overwhelmed was exactly what Jackson was.

He was the new boy at school, and so far all today had been was trouble. He missed the bus that morning and had to walk to school; He couldn't get into his locker so he had to carry around all his books, and to make things worse, the only person he knew at this brand new school had completely forgotten that he was supposed to show him around. Jackson silently cursed his cousin for that as he tried to wander to the lunchroom.

Across the room, however, Deuce was sitting with Heath and some of his other bluddies, laughing and joking while eating. Deuce managed to briefly catch a sight of Jackson out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey who's that?" The gorgon nudged the fire elemental next to him, motioning towards the familiar sore thumb in the crowd. The fire elemental snorted, bit into his sandwich and proceeded to talk with his mouth completely full.

"That dork over there? That's my Normie cousin, Jackson. I thought mom said he was transferring in  
today. I think I was supposed to show him to his classes, but I forgot." He said through a mouthful of meat and bread.

"That's cold, dude." Deuce chided. He looked the boy up and down again. _"A Normie, huh? I don't think Monster High has seen anything like that before."_ The gorgon thought. " _He's pretty cute too."_

A bright yellow hand waving frantically in front of his face shook Deuce out of his thoughts. "Hello? Earth to Deuce?" Heath prodded. The gorgon shook his head and turned to face Heath, slightly embarrassed he had spaced out so quickly.

"Sorry man, I was just thinkin' about how strange it is to see a Normie around these parts. Is he an exchange student or somethin'?"

"Tell me more about your cousin. Jackson's his name right? Did you two grow up together?" Deuce asked a little too quickly. He tried not to sound too eager, but he was afraid it was too late for that. He just hoped that Heath wouldn't comment on his curiosity.

"He was sick a lot as a kid, I didn't really see him often." Heath shrugged. There was much more  
too it, but he didn't really feel like he was at liberty to disclose everything about his own flesh and blood, even if it was to one of his best friends.

"Sick?" The gorgon pried, intrigued.

"Well, I'm not sure how Normie human anatomy works-" Started Heath, but he was soon interrupted.

"Of course you don't you hardly passed Monster Anatomy!" Deuce tried to joke. Heath didn't laugh.

"I'm being serious here, Deuce. Like I was saying; I don't really get Normie human anatomy, but I do know that all that changing he had to do as a kid really wore him out."

"Changing?" Deuce questioned again.

"Yeah, his mom is the daughter of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He flip-flops between Jekyll and Hyde, Jackson and Holt."

"Holt? So, he's got like a whole other personality? Whoa."

Heath shook his head. "Nah, think of it as a whole other person living in his body too. And all that switching was hard on his body I guess, but it doesn't matter anyway, Holt's the fun one! He's totally a party animal!"

"Wow, that must be a major bummer, having to share everything with someone, including your own body." Deuce shuddered at the thought of it.

"Yeah, I guess. Jackie hardly got out of his room. Practically spent his whole life in that bed." Heath paused. "I know he read a lot. When you're too tired to move 10 feet I guess you spend a lot of your life in books."

"So he must be pretty smart then, huh?" Deuce reveled aloud. Heath nodded and continued.

"Yeah he's super smart actually. He was never really one to play contact sports. Visiting him was strange; It was like visiting a museum, you know? Look but don't touch. He usually just read to me or tried to play dumb science games with me." Another pause. "Why do you care so much all of a sudden? He's really not that interesting, and you've never even met him" Deuce looked slightly offended as the words rolled out of the fire elemental's mouth.

"Don't say that about your cousin, Dude." He threw a disapproving glance at Heath, but it went unnoticed. "And I _have_ met him before. We played a game of casketball once together once. He was pretty good too; ya sure he was bedridden as a kid?" Deuce did actually wonder about the credibility of Heath's story. It just didn't seem to make sense; one of the two had to be hiding something.

"Look, all I'm saying is that Jackie grew up kinda rough okay? He's had a hard life and I don't think you should pry. If you want to know more about his childhood maybe you should ask him yourself.." The bell rang signaling the end of Lunch. "Anyways, I have that Clawculus test next period, I gotta go." He finished before leaving Deuce alone and confused.

* * *

Jackson's Lunch period didn't go as horribly as he thought it would. He sat with a group of ghouls who demanded to show him around afterward and introduce him to everyone at Monster High. Everyone here seemed so nice, except for maybe Manny Taur, but when Manny tried to bully Jackson, more than one person stepped in to defend the Normie and chastise Manny for acting so cruel.

The group of ghouls walked Jackson to his next class, Bite-ology, and while they seemed scared for him, he wasn't worried. Jackson loved science classes and he was sure this one wasn't going to be too different.

When he walked into the classroom he immediately scanned the room for any open seats in the back of the room where he wouldn't be noticed, but then he remembered his promise to his mom and began to look for open seats next to friendly looking monsters.

A snake haired gorgon caught his eye right away. Deuce waved to him happily, pointing at the available seat next to him. Jackson made his way over to the boy and set his stuff down with a shy smile.

"This seat open?" Jackson asked shyly. Deuce gave him a small smirk and shook his head.

"Sure is man." Deuce replied coolly. Jackson sat down in the chair next to the gorgon boy and got settled in, taking out his notebook, pencils, pens, folders and textbook so he was completely ready for class. Next to him Deuce put his feet up on the desk and his hands behind his head.

"Are you not taking notes?" Jackson asked Deuce apprehensively. Deuce chuckled in response.

"Nah, I'll just wing the test when it comes around." He replied. Deuce's response immediately stressed out Jackson, who prepared as much as physically possible before any form of assessment.

"Well, I-Uh, okay." Jackson sputtered as he turned to face forward in his seat.

While Deuce was spacing out, Jackson also had a hard time focusing on what the teacher was saying throughout the entire period. He just couldn't help but think about the monster next to him, and how utterly attractive he was. Jackson closed his eyes and pictured Deuce's statuesque face, trying hard not to look over at him. Before he even knew it the bell was ringing, signaling the end of the school day. He shook himself out of the daze he was in and began to pack up his things, prepping for his walk home. Jackson almost jumped out of his skin when he looked over and saw that Deuce was, in fact, still there and staring right at him.

"Need a hand?" Deuce asked, grabbing one of Jackson's folders and handing it to him. Jackson felt his face flush a bright red.

" _Haha! You're blushin' like crazy dork. Ya gonna make a move?_ " Holt teased Jackson through their mind link. Before thinking Jackson yelled out his heated reply.

"Shut up you jerk!" Jackson yelled much to Deuce's bewilderment. The gorgon looked at Jackson shocked, confused, and a little bit hurt.

"I'm like sorry for whatever I did man." Deuce tried to apologize, still confused as ever.

"No no no no no!" Jackson tried to cover up quickly. "I wasn't talking to you. I'm so sorry. I was talking, well, it's like kinda hard to explain, but like I was talking to my brother, I meant to say it in my head but I accidentally said it out loud, and I know that sounds crazy but me and Holt, my brother, share a body and we can talk through our minds." Jackson rambled quickly. Deuce nodded his head slowly.

"Oh yeah, Heath was tellin' me about that." Deuce said. Jackson was sure he paled completely.

"What exactly did Heath say about me?" Jackson asked quickly. He looked worried, but Deuce just shrugged.

"I dunno, he was just tellin' me about you're both Jackson and Holt, that's his name right? It'd be cool to meet him too." Deuce explained, he wasn't sure why the Normie looked so scared all of a sudden.

"Oh, well, yeah, Holt is my brother. You can meet him some other time. I gotta go, like, right now." Jackson said hurriedly, picking up the rest of his things and leaving without waiting for Deuce to say anything else to him.

Deuce couldn't do anything but watch Jackson practically run out of the room. He sat alone in the Bite-ology room, as confused as ever.

"Did I say something I should'nt have?" Deuce said aloud, but only the silence of the room echoed in response.


	3. Chapter III: Home

**I've really been turning out these chapters! I have no idea how long this story will be, but either way I'm absolutely loving it! Things are starting to get good y'all! I hope you enjoy, don't forget to favorite/follow and leave a review! ~Discoballmind**

* * *

As soon as Jackson made it out of the Biteology classroom he made a fast paced beeline for the main exit of Monster High. He only stopped powerwalking when he was a block away.

" _Why'd you have to go and do that Holt?_ " Jackson thought, scowling at the sidewalk as it passed underneath his feet. " _I probably looked like a total dork because of that._ "

" _Awww c'mon man! It was just a joke!_ " Holt retorted. Jackson could practically hear the sly smile in Holt's voice. He rolled his eyes and kept walking instead of replying to his other half.

As he was walking, Jackson suddenly remembered that Deuce said he had talked to Heath. Jackson frowned hard. There was a lot about his childhood he didn't necessarily want everyone knowing, especially not at a brand new school and _especially_ not his crush. He tried to brush the past out of his mind quickly and thought about other things, like the new people he met at school and how nice they were to him, and how his classes were pretty easy and how the creepateria food wasn't as bad as it could be, but no matter what he thought about, his mind always somehow trailed back to Deuce; The gorgon boy that just wouldn't get out of his head.

Jackson imagined the gorgon's flawless skin; the way his scales glimmered in the light; just everything about the boy was attractive to him. The only thing Jackson hadn't seen that he wanted to was Deuce's eyes, but he knew what would happen if he did; he would turn into stone. Jackson sighed. He wondered what the gorgon's eyes looked like behind his dark shades.

The Normie thought about Deuce all the way home.

"I'm home!" Jackson called out while pushing open the front door to his house.

"In here baby!" A gruff yet feminine voice called out from the kitchen. Jackson knew right then that it was Mama Hyde today. While Mama Jekyll was gentle, Mama Hyde believed in rough love. She could be blunt and crass, but she still showed Jackson and Holt a lot of love. In most ways she was even more overprotective of her sons than Mama Jekyll. "C'mere and give me a hug baby!" She said when Jackson walked into the kitchen. He did as he was told and give his mom a tight, loving bear hug. "So, how was your first day at Monster High?" Mama Hyde asked after releasing him.

"It wasn't too bad." Jackson admitted with a shrug.

"Nobody was picking on my baby right?" She asked him defensively. Jackson scoffed and rolled his eyes, but before he could reply Mama Hyde firmly pointed a finger at him and spoke again. "No b.s. tell the truth."

Jackson swallowed a bit nervously. "Well, there was one guy," He started, but when he saw the outrage on his mother's face he finished quickly. "but my friends took care of it!" Mama Hyde licked her teeth peeved. It was too late. She was monsterly pissed off.

"What was his name? Where does he live? I want to talk to his mother. I'm calling the school right now. I will NOT have my baby being picked on." She rambled angrily pacing around the room. Jackson panicked, trying quickly to stop her.

"No mom! I promise it was already taken care of! Please don't embarrass me pleeeaaassseee." Jackson begged. Mama Hyde raised an eyebrow at her son and stared him down for a minute.

"Fine. But if there's any more issues we're going to the Headmistress about this, understand?" Although it sounded like a question, it definitely wasn't, but Jackson shook his head in agreement anyway. And then, in just a flash of a second her mood changed. "Well, other than that, I'm guessing it was a good day, right?"

"Yeah, my classes are easy and I met a bunch of people I really got a long with, I even got some of their phone numbers!" He replied excitedly. Although this sounds like something minor, this was a major event for Jackson. His social skills have never been great, and the fact that he already made some friendships was a big deal.

"Oooooo look at that! My baby's makin' friends!" Mama Hyde exclaimed, squeezing Jackson into another tight hug, making Jackson blush.

"Cut it out mom!" Jackson protested but that didn't stop her.

"Now, what about that boy you've been crushin' on? Did you see him at all today? Did ya talk to him?" She asked rapidly, but Jackson turned as white as a ghost the second she mentioned it.

"W-Who told you about that?" He sputtered, embarrassed, but before Mama Hyde could even reply he knew the answer. "Holt." He cursed to himself. Mama Hyde looked upset too.

"I'm sorry baby, Holt told me, well Mama Jekyll, yesterday. I didn't know you didn't want us to know. I'm sorry." Mama Hyde tried to console her son, who was obviously embarrassed and upset. Jackson took a deep breath and sighed heavily.

"Look, it's okay. I just can't believe Holt would tell you guys about that." He looked down at the floor and frowned. Mama Hyde put her hand on his shoulder and used her other hand to tilt Jackson's face back up.

"I'll give him a stern talking to about keeping your personal things personal, okay baby?" She promised. Jackson gave her a small smile in return. "Now, if you wanna tell me about this boy yourself, I'd be glad to listen." Mama Hyde hinted, with a knowing look in her eye.

Jackson blushed slightly again and then told his mother everything about Deuce. From the tip of the snakes on his head to the bottoms of his shoes, Jackson explained Deuce in detail. He smiled the whole time, which in turn, made her smile too. By the time he was finished, Mama Hyde knew all about the gorgon.

"He sounds absolutely adorable baby!" She exclaimed excitedly. She couldn't help but be excited, this was the first time Jackson had a big crush on someone like this. "What does Holt think of him?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "He thinks he's cute too, but he totally embarrassed me in front of him today." He complained, remembering today's incident yet again. Mama Hyde shook her head.

"That boy, I tell ya. I'm really gonna have to talk to him about all this." She said frowning. "In the meantime, however, why don't you go relax, do you have any homework?" Jackson nodded his head yes.

"Yeah, I'll go get a head start on it now." He said, turning on his heel to walk upstairs. He paused in the doorway of the kitchen and turned back around. "Mom?"

"Yes baby?" Mama Hyde asked, turning around to face him.

"I love you." He said with a smile. His affection caught Mama Hyde slightly off guard. She flashed a loving smile back at him.

"I love you too Jackson" She said. And with that he headed upstairs to start on his homework.

* * *

Mama Hyde poured herself a glass of wine. She had a long day at the office today and she just wanted to relax. As she moved into the living room to relax, the house phone began to ring. She paused and turned towards the phone that was positioned on the wall to her left. She frowned hard when she saw the name on the caller id.

It was Jackson's dad.


	4. Chapter IV: Take Your Time

**Still pumpin' out these chapters! I'm hoping I don't run out of steam soon! I don't think I will ;) So, now the drama starts to begin! I hope you all enjoy! Please don't forget to favorite, follow and leave a review! I practically run on attention haha ~Discoballmind**

 **P.S. - This title of this fic comes from my favorite song of the moment: Where U Are by Rina Sawayama, you should totally check it out!**

* * *

The next day at school seemed to drag on forever for Deuce. He spent the entire previous day worried about Jackson and if he had offended him in some way. Deuce planned to apologize as soon as he saw the Normie, but the two only had one class together: Biteology. When the class finally rolled around Deuce was practically heartbroken to see that the seating arrangement had been shifted for the class and Deuce and Jackson were now on opposite ends of the room. Deuce slouched down in his new desk, upset that he wouldn't be able to talk to Jackson so easily now, but his hope was reignited when Jackson walked into the room.

Jackson flashed Deuce a smile and a small wave before he realized that they no longer sat together. He then walked over to his new seat and gave Deuce a dramatic frown. All day Deuce had still thought that Jackson was upset with him, and seeing that Jackson wasn't angry at him completely bettered Deuce's mood. The gorgon boy wasn't even upset when they had a surprise pop quiz that he wasn't ready for at all.

More good news came to the pair when Mr. Rotter announced that there would be a project due at the end of the week and people would be split into pairs. Luckily, Jackson and Deuce were randomly paired together. When their names were read together they both turned around and smiled wide at each other.

"So, wanna meet at my place then?" Deuce asked Jackson once the class had ended. Deuce was glad that Jackson couldn't see through his glasses, because if he could he would see the nervousness in Deuce's eyes. Over the past 48 hours Deuce had quickly realized that his crush on Jackson was a lot bigger than he originally thought.

"Yeah, that sounds good." Jackson nodded, he was just as nervous as Deuce, if not more.

"Cool, uh, I can give ya a lift to my place if you want." Deuce offered. Without realizing it the two boys had stepped a lot closer. Their personal space bubble had practically become one. Jackson had to look almost straight up to see Deuce's face. Jackson accidentally brushed his chest against Deuce's and the two immediately realized how close they were to one another. They both took a big step back and turned away from each other, faces bright red. "Uh, why don't we go ahead and get going." Deuce suggested quickly.

* * *

Jackson and Deuce agreed to get at least 2 hours worth of work done. At 3 hours into hanging out, no work had been done at all. They mostly talked the entire time at Deuce's house. They had a lot more in common than they originally thought. The same favorite movie, the same favorite book and the same favorite season. They laughed and joked the whole time they were together. Jackson had never been happier.

Eventually Jackson found his way to Deuce's music collection. Impressive didn't even cover how large Deuce's collection was.

"Whoa. You've got like, everything here!" Jackson exclaimed while looking through his catalog.

"Yeah, haha, I'm a bit of a hoarder when it comes to music. I love vinyls too." Deuce said nonchalantly. He was flipping through the pages of a magazine and sipping on a soda. "What do you listen to?" He asked Jackson.

"Well, I like downtempo stuff mostly. Loud music used to be Holt and I's trigger." Jackson said.

"Trigger? Like what made you two change and stuff?" Deuce asked, looking over the edge of his magazine.

"Precisely. When we were little kids we didn't have a set trigger, it just happened all the time. It was quite exhausting. Then for awhile we changed with the day and night cycle, and then up until recently it was loud music. It's strange though, right now we don't seem to have any set trigger, we can change whenever we want to." Jackson explained. "But yeah, I usually like downtempo stuff."

"Nice nice." Deuce nodded. "So like R&B too? I love some chill R&B, ya know, like some sensual music. I'm all about that." Deuce said cooly. Jackson blushed slightly.

"Yeah actually, I do enjoy 'grinding music' as you call it." He admitted. The two shared a small chuckle and Jackson turned to continue fingering through Deuce's collection. When we got to the top of the stack he saw a box tucked away behind a large record. Without thinking, Jackson pulled out the small box and opened it up, looking at its contents. Inside the box was a collection of tiny glass figurines. Jackson stared at them for a moment. They were beautiful and extremely intricate. Each figurine looked like it was crafted with an extreme amount of care. "What are these?" Jackson asked. Deuce turned to look at what Jackson was talking about, and the second he saw them he made a disgusted face.

"Oh _those_." By the tone of his voice, Jackson could tell there was obvious distaste. "My dad gave those to me." Deuce finished. Jackson let the awkward silence sit for a minute before asking another, more personal question.

"Does your dad stay here?" He could tell the question made Deuce visibly uncomfortable and Jackson  
immediately felt embarrassed for asking. "Or- I- Uh- If you don't wanna answer its totally fine I really don't wanna pry." Jackson finished meekly.

"It's fine, to answer your question, no, he does not stay here. He left me and my mom when I was young." Deuce stated very matter of factly. Another awkward silence lingered in the air for a moment before Jackson spoke again.

"My dad left us too." He said softly. Deuce looked up at him, but Jackson was looking down at the floor, a sad look in his eyes. "We tried talking again when we were older, but there was, uh, a big conflict of interest so we stopped." Jackson admitted, a tinge of sadness in his voice. He wouldn't admit it right there, but the real reason they had stopped talking was that Jackson and Holt were gay. Mama Jekyll and Hyde supported them completely, but their fire elemental father couldn't handle it. "I know how it feels." Jackson sighed.

"I'm sorry dude." Deuce said. He felt pretty bad for making the topic of conversation turn so sour. "Look, let's not focus on the bad anymore. It's not good to dwell in the past, yanno?" Deuce said, trying to put on his best smile, but deep down Deuce was sort of relieved. He had never met anyone with a bad family history like himself, and in some kind of strange way it comforted him.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right." Jackson agreed.

Eventually the pair began to work on their project, getting a large portion of it done while still also having a bunch of fun together. But, their time did have to come to an end. Deuce was walking Jackson out when the Normie suddenly turned around right before he got to the front door.

"Hey, I was wondering, where's your mom at?" Jackson asked. Deuce shrugged.

"On a business trip probably. She's a pretty famous lawyer so she usually travels a bunch." Deuce explained. "I'm home alone pretty often." He tacked on. Jackson nodded his head slowly.

"Well, if you ever get lonely and want to hang out or something I'm usually free." Jackson offered meekly. Deuce gave him a surprised smile and a small nod.

"Definitely man. I had a lot of fun today. You should swing by again soon." Deuce said as Jackson walked out of the house. Jackson turned at the end of Deuce's driveway and waved goodbye one last time as the gorgon looked out from his doorway. Even when Deuce closed the door he still had the biggest smile on his face.

* * *

Jackson arrived home not much later. The walk wasn't too bad and it was through a very nice part of town. Just from looking at the houses in Deuce's neighborhood he could tell that Deuce's mom definitely made a lot of money. He pushed open the door to his own house in the neighborhood over and made his usual announcement.

"Hey mom, I'm home!" He called out.

"I'm in here." His mother replied from the room over in a slightly shaky voice. Jackson furrowed his brow and walked into the living room where she sat, curled up on the couch, absentmindedly watching a rerun of an old sitcom. She looked up at Jackson as he entered, a strange look on her face.

"Hey Jackson?" Mama Jekyll started nervously. Jackson could see the hesitation in her eyes, the look of apprehension on her face. It scared him a little bit.

"Yeah mom?" He asked quizzically, his pierced eyebrow raised. Mama Jekyll swallowed hard before speaking again. Her hands were usually gracefully and steady, but the glass she was holding was shaking.

"Your dad called last night." She said slowly. "He wants to see you."


	5. Chapter V: When It Was Dark

**Some backstory? Some backstory. Make sure to favorite, follow and leave a review! Seriously attention keeps me going haha ~DiscoBallMind**

* * *

 **10 Years Prior**

Jackson was snug in his bed, as usual. He hadn't been up all that much today; his body was achy when he woke up this morning. Jackson spent all of today reading some of the books he picked out last week when he was feeling well enough to go out with his mother. His evergrowing pile of books sat easy to reach on the floor next to Holt's box of action figures and toy cars. The boy glanced over at the clock and saw that it read 9:02pm. Why hadn't anyone come to tuck him in? The 7 year old wondered.

" _Hey Jackson?_ " Holt asked suddenly through their thoughts. Jackson jumped at first, he still wasn't used to the fact the two could communicate inaudibly. They had only discovered this a few weeks ago after all.

"What?" Jackson replied aloud. He giggled, remembering he didn't have to actually speak to talk with his brother. _Oops, I didn't mean to say that out loud._ Jackson thought to Holt. " _What do you need?_ "

There was silence on Holt's end for a moment, and then his voice came through again, only this time it was a little shaky. " _What's a burden?_ " He asked timidly.

Jackson's face scrunched. " _A burden? It's like something that -um- you have to deal with when you don't wanna, I think._ " He explained. " _Why do you wanna know?_ " Jackson asked curiously.

Another pause from Holt, this time it was longer. " _Last night Dad said I was a burden to you._ " The shakiness in his voice was stronger this time. Was he crying? Jackson couldn't tell, but he was worried for his brother.

" _Are you sure? I don't think dad would say that about us._ " Jackson thought back quickly. Sometimes their dad could be a little mean, but he didn't think his dad would say something so cruel.

" _Do you think I'm a burden, Jackson?"_ Holt thought softly. Jackson shook his head quickly even though Holt couldn't see him.

" _Of course not! You're my brother!_ " Jackson thought furiously. " _Even if it does hurt a lot when we have to change, you're still my brother._ " He reassured.

" _Okay, just checking._ " Holt thought back. However, Jackson could tell he was still sad, but he also got the feeling Holt didn't want to talk anymore.

Jackson sighed aloud. He figured he might as well go to bed. The boy frowned as he pulled the blankets on the bed up to his chin. Jackson wiggled til he got comfortable and he closed his eyes.

" _Goodnight_ " He thought to Holt, but no response came. Silent minutes passed, but Jackson didn't want their conversation to end how it did. " _Love you._ " He thought.

" _Love you too, bro._ " Holt thought back almost immediately, breaking the stillness of night.  
Jackson smiled and finally decided he was ready for sleep.

As the two boys slept peacefully as one, their parents were fighting. The couple had been arguing all night, and while they yelled about many different things, it all boiled down to one common problem; Jackson and Holt.

"Coalton they are our children!" A distressed female voice cried. "You can't talk about them as if- as if they're abominations!"

"They- Him-Whatever you want to call it is not my son. They've gotten so bad this year, I can't take it anymore! I wanted a normal child, not some unstable freak that can't handle being one person!" The gruffer of the two voices accused. "I mean, I knew you're like "that" because your dad messed around with all those chemicals, but I didn't think he'd be like this! I just wanted a normal kid, Gabrielle, that's it." He tried to reason, but that was the brick that broke the camel's back.

"How dare you." Gabrielle spat out. Her entire body was shaking from anger and in less than a second she transformed from her Jekyll side to her Hyde side. Her body burst into flame and her skin became a deep blue color. "Get. Out." Mama Hyde demanded, her furious voice so sharp it could cut somebody.

Coalton rolled his eyes and began to storm away towards the stairs.

"Fine, if that's what you want then that's what I'll do. I'll leave, but you remember that this was your choice, you understand?" He said accusingly, a finger pointed in her direction. If Mama Hyde had less control, she would've reached out and snapped his finger in half, but she stopped herself.

"I said get the hell out of my house." Mama Hyde demanded, angrier, yet somehow still calm.

* * *

Mama Jekyll peeked her head into Jackson and Holt's room not too long after to see Jackson passed out on the bed, hardly tucked into the covers. She frowned slightly. She knew how restlessly he slept, constantly tossing and turning, and sometimes even transforming. Mama Jekyll walked over to the bed and tucked Jackson back underneath the blankets and gave him a kiss on his forehead.

"I don't care what he says, I don't care what anybody says. I love you more than anything." She whispered to her sleeping child, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Both of you."


	6. Chapter VI: Life Itself

**And here's the next chapter! Things have been taking a downward spiral, I hope you don't mind ;P I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to favorite, follow and leave a review! If you leave a review tell how you hope things will go! I love feedback! ~DiscoBallMind**

* * *

Jackson's skin paled. The mention of his birth father truly shook him to the core. It had been years since the two had last spoken, and their last meeting did not go over well. Jackson's bookbag he was holding slipped from his hands and fell to the floor.

"H-He what?" Jackson asked incredulously. This had to be some kind of joke. Mama Jekyll patted the cushion next to her on the couch, signaling for him to have a seat. Jackson did slowly. The tension in the room was at an all time high. Mama Jekyll was silent for a long while before she spoke.

"You don't have to go see him if you don't want to, okay?" She said in a very sad voice. It was extremely obvious she was deeply upset by this situation. "I don't want this to upset you. I only wanted to tell you because I felt like you needed to know. You're an adult now, it's your choice to see him if you want to." Mama Jekyll continued, putting her hand on Jackson's and clutching it.

There was another long silence. Jackson couldn't believe what he was hearing. After all this time, his father wanted to try again? For what reason? He couldn't fathom why his father would want to speak with him after how horribly it had gone last time they had interacted.

But there was something deep down in Jackson's heart screaming for him to take the chance.

"I-I think I want to." Jackson said after awhile. His mother gripped his hand harder. "I'm going to." He repeated, more confidently this time.

"Just promise me that you won't let him upset you or hurt you Jackie. I can't stand to see you like that again." Mama Jekyll practically begged. There were tears welling in the corners of her eyes. She remembered the last interaction very well. After they had their final falling out Jackson hardly did anything. He hardly spoke, he hardly moved he hardly ate. He just sat and wasted away. It took a long time for him to finally come around again, and she truly could not stand to see Jackson get like that again. "Please." She asked, her voice cracking.

"I promise mom." Jackson said surely. She squeezed his hand harder and got up to leave the room. Mama Jekyll had promised herself years ago she would never let her children see her cry.

* * *

Jackson lied sleepless in bed that night. He had far too much on his mind.

" _Yo, are you sure about this man?_ " The voice in his head suddenly asked.

" _I-I don't know._ " Jackson replied. " _Do you think its a good idea Holt?_ "

" _No!_ " Holt cried out in his head, a tinge of fiery anger in his voice. " _You know exactly what I think of that douche!_ " Although Holt couldn't see, Jackson frowned hard.

" _I know, I know. I just- I just want to see what he has to say._ " Jackson though, more so trying to convince himself than anyone else. He knew what he really wanted from this. Jackson longed to be accepted by his father. There was a void left when he had been rejected. Jackson had never truly recovered.

" _I think its a stupid idea Jackie_." Holt thought back, very matter-of-factly.

"I know it is." Jackson said out loud to the dark room, not necessarily expecting a reply. "I know."

Eventually he drifted off into a deep, dark, dreamless sleep. The early morning sun shining on his face woke him up in the morning. It was Saturday morning, and instead of getting ready for his usual ritual of eating cereal and watching cartoons, Jackson was preparing for what he knew was going to be an emotionally draining day. He kissed his mother on the cheek as he walked out the door. She couldn't offer him anything else but a sad glance and a soft "It'll be okay."

They met at a tiny cafe downtown. Jackson had arrived 20 minutes early. He ordered a cup of tea, he had never been much of a coffee drinker. He sipped it slowly as he stared of into space, imagining how this conversation would probably go for the millionth time.

"I'm not late am I, son?" A voice from behind him asked, causing him to jump in his seat and spill a few drops of his drink. Jackson turned to face non other than his father, Coalton, who was dressed in an ill-fitting suit with greasy slicked back hair. Jackson flinched slightly at the sight of him, but he quickly recovered.

"Uh, no I, uh got here early." Jackson sputtered. Coalton took the seat at the other side of the small table and smiled wide at Jackson.

"What? Aren't you happy to see me?" Coalton asked. Although he had a smile on his face, Jackson could still hear the slightly jealous edge that his voice held. Jackson stared into his tea.

"It's just been awhile I guess." Jackson said quietly. Coalton's smile faltered. His face fell and he sighed loudly.

"I know. It's been too long. I've just had a lot going on with work and stuff I haven't really been able to visit or anything like that, but you know I've wanted to see you." Coalton said unconvincingly. Coalton was a door-to-door insurance salesman, and not a very good one at that. His excuses for not seeing Jackson and Holt were just that, excuses. "Well, how have you been? Everything been alright in school? You're the one that's more of a bookworm right? Your brother was more sporty if I remember correctly."

"Yeah, my grades are fine. Holt doesn't really play sports anymore though. Not since he tore his ACL playing casketball a few years ago." Jackson said curtly. Although they hadn't talked about anything touchy yet, this conversation was rubbing him the wrong way.

"Tore his...Well why didn't I hear about this?" Coalton said, obviously agitated, furrowed brow and all. Jackson rolled his eyes. Of course his father would get upset that he didn't know about an event that happened when he wasn't in the picture.

"It was 5 years ago and you never asked." Jackson retorted. His tea had gone cold.

"Oh, well never mind that. Anything else? You or Holt got a girlfriend yet?" Coalton brushed off the first part and asked his question with a strange, hopeful look on his face. Jackson let out a deep sigh.

"Do you not remember the last time we talked about this? I already told you I'm ga-" Jackson started.

"Oh Ra, this again." Coalton cut him off and rolled his eyes hard. "I thought we were over this. You should've grown out of this by now." Coalton said exasperatedly. Jackson's eyes narrowed sharply.

"Over this?" Jackson asked, his voice rising. "No I'm not 'over this.' I'm never going to be 'over this!' This isn't just some phase! This is who I am. I'm gay, and I don't care what you have to say about it. Jackson yelled, anger seeping through every pore in his body. Jackson was shaking. He had never been this furious in his entire life.

"Well, I'm not gonna sit here and have my son be some kind of disgusting faggo-" Coalton started accusingly, but Jackson wasn't going to take this without a fight.

"What makes you think you can just waltz right into my life and tell me how to live?" Jackson said with a voice as sharp as knives. "Last I checked you've never done anything for me or my mom. Don't you dare try and tell me what to do with my life." He finished scornfully. His fire elemental father was not pleased. Coalton's head and hands began to flame up and his face was a look of pure anger, but before he could even speak, Jackson was starting to stand up. "Don't waste your energy getting angry. This conversation is over. Don't bother calling us again. Ever." Jackson stated flatly. He didn't hesitate before turning on his heel and storming out of the tiny cafe.

* * *

Jackson wasn't sure where he was driving, but he was driving there. Fast. A part of him couldn't believe how his father had acted, but his better self knew this was just how his father was. Tears fell slowly from Jackson's eyes and down his pale skin. He wiped them away absentmindedly. He knew he couldn't drive home, his mother couldn't handle seeing him upset over how terrible his father was. He kept driving, his body on autopilot. He wasn't sure how he got there, but after what seemed like an eternity of driving he parked his car in a familiar long, winding driveway.

When Deuce answered the front door he didn't expect to see the boy who had become his best friend, so when he did he greeted Jackson with a huge smile, but Deuce was even more surprised when Jackson fell against the gorgon and burst into deep, mournful sobs.


End file.
